A Hot Shower on a Cold Saturday
by I-brake-for-nifflers
Summary: Yay! another of my JL fics. Enjoy, and review... onegai? Insert cuteadorable face! Different chappie three now... rating has increased slightly beacause I'm paranoid.
1. Some Big News

Disclaimer: I don't own James, I don't own Lily. Rowling created them. I'm just borrowing.

It was a still, cold night. James Potter quietly opened the back door to the little two story house in Godric's Hollow where he lived with his wife. He stomped the snow off of his boots, observing the fact that it was a little early in the year for the white, fluffy menace. It was October, after all! His dark silhouette turned back and shut the door, locking it behind him. When he whispered "Lumos" to the thin cherry wand in his right hand it began to emit an eerie ball of bluish light. Now illuminated was a tiny, slightly cluttered, but oddly comforting kitchen. He held the shiny shaft of wood in his teeth and started to peel off a dark cloak, two grey wool gloves, a matching wool scarf and thick socks that were knobby where they had bunched up underneath his boots. He dumped the soggy articles haphazardly into a messy pile on the linoleum and knew he would have to pay for his laziness when Lily came down to make breakfast the next morning. Oh well.

The square mahogany cuckoo clock next to the cabinets chimed, and the little wooden bird sprung out of the archway to announce to the weary James that it was two o'clock am. This, (if it was even possible), just made him feel more exhausted than he already was. He dragged his feet to the bottom of the stairwell and tried to make as little noise as possible while making his way to the last creaky stair. Stifling a yawn, James grabbed the handle to a door on his right and whispered "Nox". It wasn't pitch black without the ball of unnatural wand light, as the window on the right wall had the curtains pulled back. The light of several street lamps and a sad moon outside were reflected through the clear glass by the glimmering dusting of snow. James found it quite easy to make his way to the double bed with careful tiptoeing, where a young woman was laying with her face sideways on the pillow.

Her long, red hair fell over her neck and contrasted gloriously with the pink flannel pyjamas covering her pale shoulders. James knew that if he looked, a few freckles would be splattered on her soft skin. She had been tossing and turning in her sleep, and the white sheet (that looked almost bluish-green in the moonlight) was wrapped around her legs like she had just gotten into a fight with it.

James pried her from the sheet being as gentle as possible so he wouldn't wake her and re-covered her with it. He climbed underneath the wrinkled fabric and turned to face her. Watching Lily breathe was the most beautiful thing he'd ever experienced. Her chest rose and fell to a slow rhythm, and her pink mouth was slightly open. Her pale eyelashes were still. She looked…angelic.

He fell off to sleep, dreaming of his beautiful wife.

oooo

James woke up gradually the next morning, with many yawns and stretches to bring consciousness to each cell in his body. Lily wasn't next to him. He realized it was a Saturday and she probably let him sleep in, and he was grateful.

He crawled out of the bed and rumpled his raven hair with his strong right hand. (Old habits are hard to break.) Walking out of the bedroom, he grabbed a white towel out of the linen closet and stepped into the small bathroom across the hallway.

He turned the knob of the shower and hot water began to spray onto the white tiles. When he stepped in, the water hit his back and ran in little streams down his body. It soothed his tired muscles and he sighed out of contentment. He was the happiest man in the world.

What James didn't expect during this relaxing shower was for the water to, for no apparent reason, loose pressure and increase 20 degrees in temperature. He screamed like a little girl that had just seen a spider and jumped out of the bathtub. Lily was obviously playing a joke on him. She knew what flushing the toilet downstairs would do to his shower!

He partially dried off and wrapped the white towel around his waist after turning off the water. She knew he had come home late, and really needed that, so why would she do that to him? Maybe, if he yelled first, she wouldn't be able to tell him off for not putting his things away last night. He headed downstairs.

He walked through the kitchen and into the living room, where the door to the other bathroom in the house was open. '_Aha!_' He thought. '_Caught in the act!_'

He tiptoed to the white doorframe and peeked inside, ready to scare Lily if she was anywhere near the toilet.

She was near it, but slumped on the floor, still in those wrinkled pink pyjamas. Her face looked ghostly pale and beads of sweat had formed on her forehead. She had thrown up.

"Lils!" said an extremely confused James. "Are you sick sweetheart?"

She nodded, obviously too incapacitated to speak.

"What's wrong!"

Her reply was another bout of making her sacrifices to the porcelain god, for which James looked away with a painful grimace. In seven years of school together and a few months of marriage he had never seen Lily get sick. Ever. In fact, being around anyone this sick was quite new to him.

After the initial shock of seeing his wife in pain, James grabbed a washcloth and drowned it in cool water from the sink. He rung it out, and folded it neatly into a square. Kneeling down next to her, he started to pat the washcloth onto her forehead to cool her down.

"Thank you." She smiled at him with dry lips.

After her face was freshened up a bit, James could tell she was feeling slightly better.

"I don't know what happened, James. I came down to make breakfast, saw the mess you left for me…" Her lips turned up into a teasing grin. "…and then it felt like my stomach turned over. I'm sorry I ruined your shower."

"Don't worry about it Lils." He helped her stand up and led her to the sink, where she started to wash her face properly. The sweat on her neck had curled little strands of her red hair into sticky ringlets. She dried her face off and gave James the once over.

"You're still in your towel."

"You interrupted my shower, remember?"

Lily stuck out her tongue.

"So, really Lils… what's wrong? I've never seen you like this before."

"I've stuck my tongue out at you before." She gave him a 'look'.

"No!" James said, his blue eyes laughing, "that." He pointed at the toilet.

"Oh, that. Well, it's been happening for the past few days, every once in awhile."

"It has! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I didn't want you to make a big deal out of it."

"It is a big deal! If this has been going on for awhile, I should take you to St. Mungo's!"

Lily groaned. "I knew this would happen," she murmured.

"Go get dressed, Lils. I'm taking you to the hospital."

oooo

"I still don't know why you felt it necessary to drag me here!" Lily whispered ferociously into James' ear. They were in the queue at a large, kiosk shaped desk where an unpleasant looking witch was directing traffic, so to speak. After the woman had sent a little girl and her father up to the floor for charms gone awry, (it seems the little girl had taken Humpty Dumpty a little too seriously), James pulled Lily forward.

"What's your malady?" The woman said this with the enthusiasm of a sloth.

"We just need to talk to a healer for a few minutes. My wife has been sick for a while."

"O.K. Take the elevator up three floors and you'll see a healer's station. Tell them Adamina sent you." She waved them to the gilded lift as if they were pestering flies.

"Don't mind us." James said with sarcasm as he led Lily across the large room.

oooo

"Throwing up?" The healer said with a look of intense distaste.

"Did I stutter?" James replied.

"Er, James?" Lily elbowed him in the ribs. "You did stutter, actually. Can we leave now?"

James just tightened his grip on his wife's waist. "Can't you just do a scan, or something? Whatever it is you do? I just want to make sure it's nothing serious."

"O.K." The middle-aged wizard said. His uniform was a crisp blue like his bulging eyes. He pulled out a short, thick wand made of some light wood and muttered a spell to it. The thing started radiating a purple light, and he waved it over Lily like a muggle metal detector. When he was finished, he put the purple wand to his temple and closed his eyes. His frown slowly turned to a huge grin that exposed yellowing, crooked teeth. "I see." He muttered to himself.

"Well. What is it?" All of this just made James more curious as to why Lily would get sick after an amazing track record in illness prevention.

"Ma'm," the healer said, "you're going to have a baby!"

James fainted.


	2. A Faded Letter

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry or his parents. Or anything Jewish for that matter…

A/N: Just a question, does anybody want me to continue this? Like, I can keep going through her pregnancy, but since I'm really busy, I don't want to do it if everyone's indifferent. Let me know!

Lily Potter leaned backwards and sunk her head underneath the warm bathwater. She had always liked doing this, because of how amplified little sounds were in the quiet, tiny waves. She accidentally cracked her knuckle, and in the water it became a loud, resounding CRACK! It reminded Lily of hail hitting a tin roof.

She brought her face up for air, but kept her eyes closed and her ears under the waterline. She wanted to hold onto this moment, this quietness. Between the pregnancy (A month a long now!) and Voldemort, she knew that this was a valuable moment for her. She reveled in the sound of the drain, sneakily stealing water because she hadn't stopped it correctly. She sighed inwardly, and raised herself out of the tub.

She was instantly freezing, and had left her towel at the other end of the bathroom. Her blazing red hair fell stiff and dark, clinging to itself. Dripping onto the tile, she grabbed the towel off of the rack and wrapped it carefully around herself. She wasn't careful enough. She let out a gasp of pain as her hands and the rough towel touched her chest, tender from this new range of hormones she was dealing with. Her intestines twisted into a pretzel and her stomach performed somersaults. Wonderful… her inner workings could try out for a Chinese acrobatic troupe!

'_I bet it's a boy…'_ Lily casually thought to herself. _'He's already a pain in the…well, everything. Oh crap…'_

She leaned over the toilet and threw up. That bath had done so much good, and now she had just ruined it. Having a baby… she was actually having a baby! Lily was still trying to determine whether she was scared or excited. She finally settled on a little of both.

She picked her thin wand up from the sink and preformed a drying spell; soon her dark and limp hair was suddenly vibrant and wavy. Lily then picked up a purple transparent toothbrush and squirted a thick ribbon of white and blue paste onto the bristles. This was a habit from her early life, before Hogwarts, magic, James… She could have easily used magic but for some reason the old routine comforted her. Her son… for some odd reason she was 100 percent sure the baby was a boy… would grow up with magic. With them. He would never fumble around trying to hold the brush correctly, like she had. Life would be easy.

That is, if James could find Voldemort and save the world. A tiny detail Lily hardly ever allowed herself to dwell on. James was a brave man. Cocky and sometimes rude, but always sweet. She walked to their bedroom where her vanity stood against a light green wall and ran her finger over a glass drawer pull. She grabbed the knob gently, and the open rectangle came into view. There was a letter, slightly yellowed, that she grabbed with her pruny fingers. (A/N: Yay for spending too long in the tub!) She slowly pulled the parchment open and re-read the letter that James had sent her years ago, when she realized she was in love with him. It said:

_My dearest head girl,_

_I've been thinking… (STOP LAUGHING!) Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about why you won't go out with me. I think I know why, but first I want to clear something up. I don't just want you to be with me because I can't have you, or I would never have asked you out in the first place. I want you because of the face you make when you tell a white lie so you won't hurt a friend. I can see all of your teeth. I want you because your eyes remind me of the lake, really calm… but you never know when the giant squid will pop up… (You do have quite the temper, Lils!) I'm rambling aren't I? Well, let me get on with it…I love you. I do. I've had years to figure it out and that's the only thing I can come up with. Please come to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday? Before you say no, read the rest of my stupid letter… I've been reading many muggle books lately, just for Muggle Studies, and recently we've been talking about muggle religions. I suppose you know what those are, anyway…in the Jewfish_ (Here Lily chuckled; James could never remember muggle names for the life of him!) _religion there is a book called the Talmud, or something like that. Before I tell you what it says let me remind you that for them, woman was created from man's ribs. I found this passage and realized why you won't give me the time of day. Here goes… _

_'Be very careful if you make a woman cry, because God counts her tears. The woman came out of a man's rib. Not from his feet to be walked on. Not from his head to be superior, but from the side to be equal. Under the arm to be protected and next to the heart to be loved.'_

_Oh Merlin, I can't tell you in words how much I hurt when I read this. I've been going about it all wrong. I could never win you by trying to impress you. Hell, 'winning' isn't even the right way to say it. You're not a piece of meat, or a Quiddich Cup! You're a woman. If I had the chance, I would dry your tears. I would keep you by my side forever. I would protect you with my life, and love you 'til the end of it. Please say you love me back. I couldn't bear not having you in my life after we finish here. Let me love you._

_Prongs_


	3. Cravings

Disclaimer: I don't own them, so stop asking!

A/N: I know it's awfully short, but lately I've been having trouble sitting down to write… literally. I have to get back surgery on Friday. I'm only 17! Crazy, huh?

James stared at the kitchen in utter disbelief. He had just skipped down the stairs, wet strands of midnight clinging to his thin cheeks. His hazel eyes had been watching his feet dance down, one hand grasping a fluffy white towel that was wrapped loosely around his waist. When his gaze rose to the kitchen as he hit the last stair, he was shocked by the terrors before him…

Lily.

His wife.

_Scarfing_ food.

The horror! The horror!

Her slightly frizzy, bed tousled hair hung in a red curtain across her face as she devoured a sandwich. From the looks of the various ingredient containers strewn about the counter it included bread, pickles, peanut butter, mayonnaise, turkey, ham, blackberry preserves, and fun-sized marshmallows. A quart of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream sat on the other end of the table, the lid situated haphazardly on one side of the rim of the container, and a metal spoon handle claiming the scoop-induced craters for merry England. The remaining space on the table was littered with Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frog wrappers, and the sticky remnants of Sugar Quills. When the healers warned him about odd cravings, they weren't kidding!

"Um, Lils?"

"Hmm?" She lifted her head, a tiny smudge of purple in the corner of her mouth. James wanted to be disgusted, he really did…but she looked so adorable. She had been pregnant for eight weeks now. He loved her.

That smudge was bothering him, though. He unconsciously wiped the corner of his own mouth. Lily thought it was a hint, and started for a napkin with a bewildered and… almost…hurt look. He couldn't stand it.

James covered the ground to her in half a second, pulled the napkin away, and leaned down to her. "Let me help you with that." He chuckled in her ear, knowing full well it would tickle her sensitive skin. Without giving Lily a chance to respond, he gently kissed the smudge. The mixture of sickly sweet blackberry mixed with the taste of his wife's skin spurned him on.

Before they even realized it, James and Lily Potter were snogging on their kitchen table. He pulled up for air and looked into her startlingly green eyes, searching them. "I love you." they whispered at the same time. James sat up, and placed water wrinkled fingers on her still-flat stomach.

"Little girl, do you have _any _idea what you're getting into?"

Lily wrinkled her nose. "How do you know it's not a boy?"

"I could have been talking to you!"

"But you weren't." Lily propped herself up on her elbows, sending Merlin only knows what food to the floor.

"Okay, I wasn't, happy now?"

"Always." Lily pulled James back down for another soft kiss.

…

'Love. You're getting into so much love, mate.' James thought, his smile swallowed into the kiss. 'You have no idea how much we love each other. How much we love you already. Just wait, little one.'


	4. Madville

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Nada! Zilch! (Except the plot, which I cam up with myself. Look ma, no flashbacks!)

A/N: Sorry about the wait, but I think this chappie is totally worth it. My back is doing much better, but it's still hard to sit and write for too long at a time. Thanks for your thoughts!

Lily sat curled on the cold bathroom floor. Salty tears snaked down her pale cheeks, falling slowly onto the arm she held tightly to her knees. She cried quietly. The worst part about being married to someone like James… no, that wasn't right. There _was_ nobody like James. Lily breathed out a sigh that rattled her body.

The thing about James was that he just didn't take the time to understand her, what she was going through.

Lily tried her best to pull herself together as she heard the brass doorknob squeak to life, and saw a skinny wedge of yellow light extend from the bottom of the door across the dark floor in one slow sweep. It was like watching a cloak of gold unfurl, sparkling. James' invisibility cloak was like that, but spun from moonbeams, not rays of light. Bugger it… she'd thought of him again. _'I'm so stupid…'_

A friendly, round face…usually plastered with the most sincere smile Lily had ever seen… appeared around the dark door. This time, however, Alice Longbottom's smile was so sad it made Lily burst out into fresh tears.

"Th… Thanks for letting stay here, Al…I … I"

"Settle down Lily, it'll work out!" Alice kneeled down beside her, stroking her thick hair. "It's not your fault anyway, sweetie. James was a complete prat, and you are wonderful. Admit it already for Merlin's sake."

This comment was rewarded with a startled laugh/cough from Lily. The argument that morning… it had been so horrible, she had to leave. They were both so stubborn, and she got so mad, all the worries and frustration that had plagued her about the thing growing inside her stomach had spilled out of her mouth. James… well, he just didn't get it. Nothing seemed to bother him at all. _'Doesn't he worry if he'll be a good father? That is, if our relationship lasts that long. I mean, I'm the one having the bloody thing! And he doesn't… maybe he doesn't love me anymore…'_ Alice's voice startled her out of her silent reverie.

"Give it a rest, would you? You're too bloody melodramatic to begin with. Now, to fix this, we need to do damage control."

"What do you mean, like… flooing him or something?" Lily sniffled.

"Merlin, no! Not yet, at least. What you need…" she helped Lily up, "…is a catharsis. That means…"

"I know what it means, Alice."

The blonde girl shook her head, mumbling "Every time _I_ try to be the smart one…"

Lily smacked her playfully upside the head. "I feel better already!"

"Sure, she duffs me up and _then_ feels better…" Alice, who was actually pregnant, too, dragged her friend out the door of the tiny bathroom attached to the guest bedroom. The room was comfortable for Lily, and she stayed with Alice and her husband, Frank, whenever things got rough or she just needed female company. That's why, despite arriving empty handed, Lily was handling her stay just fine. She had a toothbrush, shampoo and conditioner, a shower brush, a few books and some changes of clothes stored in the linen closet. Not to mention the emergency makeup case underneath the sink. She didn't want to look horrible when she fixed everything up with James. _'If,'_ her mind betrayed her,_ 'we do fix it.'_

Her mood did not approve, even when Alice made her sit at the small kitchen table. "So, tell me what this damage control is."

"It's simple," Alice replied, "I'm just going to introduce you to some other guys."

"But… but…I'm married!"

"Huh." Alice said thoughtfully, as if she was never aware of this fact. "You really do need to loosen up sweetie."

"Do you…er; do this sort of thing all the time?"

"Of course!"

"Does Frank know?"

"He sure does."

Lily swallowed a lump that was obstructing her windpipe, esophagus, and probably some major arteries and such. Alice appeared to have accepted this as an acceptable comment. "You slide over to the drawing room, Lily. I'll go get them."

"They're…they're already here?"

"Yep." Alice pushed Lily into the small room and shoved her on the couch. Moments later, she reappeared with a breakfast tray. "Well, here they are!"

Lily was horribly confused. "What the…"

"Dr. Pepper, Ben and Jerry, and for those of us with alternative lifestyle choices might I present… drum roll please… Lady Godiva." She set the tray down with a two liter, a quart of ice cream, and mounds of chocolate. "Lily, here they are. Guys, this is Lily. Make her feel better."

'_Oh yes,'_ thought Lily, _'Seven years of sharing a dormitory with a muggle born has definitely corrupted her.'_

"I heard that!" Alice smirked. Lily figured the woman knew her way too well.

Frank walked into the front door, stomping the snow off of his boots. It was now the middle of January, and the fluffy stuff was becoming a nuisance. Lily saw his eyes travel from Alice, who had a metal spoon hanging out of her mouth, to her, chugging soda and surrounded by chocolate wrappers. Frank was quite used to this, apparently. "What's the idiot gone and done this time?"

Lily hesitated, beginning to cry, and noticed Alice give her husband a death glare.

"Shut your mouth Longbottom, she's been through enough tonight."

"No, no Al… it might, I mean, this was a wonderful catharsis, but I'm not feeling completely better yet. Maybe, if I get it out of my system, you know it…"

"Fine, Lily." Alice turned to face Frank. "But let her talk, don't ask her anything. That clear?"

"Crystal."

"Fine then."

"You already said that…" Lily interjected.

"Duh."

"Well, I was tidying up a bit…"

"If you're anything like Allie, you were torpedoing dust bunnies and waging war with every surface in the bloody place."

"Frank!"

"Withdrawn. May I approach the witness, your honor?"

Lily let out a startled cry of laughter, but Alice just ignored the smiling man.

"Okay, I might have been a little weird about it. But I was cleaning, and all of a sudden he yelled, 'For Merlin's sake, Lils, put down the sodding rag! You washed the walls last week!' and I said, 'So what?' because he was bothering me. 'You're driving me insane with this pregnancy crap!' Yes, he actually said that. Naturally, I replied with 'And I'm super-duper happy about it too' and started to cry. And, do you know what the… the evil git said? He said 'Here we go again…' under his breath. Then he started reading the newspaper. 'Don't you care?' I asked. 'Yeah, but I don't waltz around blubbering, inhaling crazy food, and cleaning like a mad person from… Madville.' That was the last straw. 'This isn't my fault! You're the one who knocked _me_ up!' and…"

Frank and Alice stared at Lily with their jaws hanging open.

"What?" She said defensively.

"That's was…er, just… really fast, sweetie." Alice replied.

"Is that what really happened? Was there more?" asked Frank.

"Yea there was more, but it was all like that. He's sick of me being pregnant and weepy and such. It's not like it's my fault. I just wish he was more sensitive."

"I think that's the problem right there, Lily." Frank found an unopened chocolate bar amongst the rubble on the coffee table and took a bite. "He's _too _sensitive."

"Huh?"

"I know I've felt like saying those things to Allie sometimes, but not because I meant them."

"HUH?"

"It's usually when I'm feeling, well scared. About the whole process. Pregnancy is dangerous even in the magical world, and I don't want anything bad to happen to Allie or the baby. Then there is the doubt…"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked, but she was beginning to understand.

"I worry about being a good father, you know? I worry that something might happen to me, and the baby won't even have a father…" Frank shook the thought out of his head. "…but that's a stupid idea. Do you get it, Lily? He's just worried about you and the baby, but he translates that worry into resentment because that's a feeling he can deal with."

"You could have been a shrink!" She smiled.

"A _what_?"

"Oh, never mind. So he doesn't… he isn't really mad at me, then?"

"You have to talk to him about it. But don't floo him; it's bad for the baby."

"What kind of transportation _is_ good for the baby?" Lily mumbled.

"Walking." Frank and Alice said at the same time, laughing.

Frank picked up a handful of powder from a container next to the fireplace. He tossed it into the red and orange flames, turning them instantly to green and increasing the size of the blaze exponentially. "You're sure you're ready to talk to him, Lily?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. Here we go!"

Frank stuck his head in the fireplace, and following this action came a lot of muffled sound. Frank sat up, wiping ash and soot off his knees. James stepped out of the fireplace.

"Ca…can we, er… talk? Please?" James was shifting his weight uneasily, and wringing his hands.

Lily just nodded, and reached out for his hand. She pulled him into the kitchen, and tried to keep her face devoid of emotion. The last thing she wanted was to let on that she had, in her heart, already forgiven him. It was cruel, but Lily needed to hear James apologize himself.

"Look, Lils, I know I acted like a huge prat. I, er… this is so embarrassing…"

She just raised her eyebrows.

"Merlin, you know I didn't mean that stuff!"

"What _did_ you mean?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that."

"If you tell me now, James, crap like this won't happen in the future."

"I was just worried…" James choked.

"About?"

"I was worried that you…you… thatyoulovedthebabymorethanme!" He said the last part extremely fast, and kicked the kitchen island a bit harder than necessary. "Owww… bugger it…"

Lily saw James bouncing around, hugging his foot, and swearing under his breath… and her mission to remain ice queen fell to pieces. Her lips broke into a wide smile, and she began to laugh.

"It's :jump: not :hop: funny:Crash!"

Lily just laughed harder, but sat on the floor next to her frustrated husband and the remnants of Frank and Alice's wine rack. She pulled James' shoe off the foot he had been cradling and began to massage it. "You're so daft!" She laughed again. "You know that this baby is my life, and always will be… but I have enough room in my heart for both of you. You were my first baby, after all." Her smile became playful and wicked.

"Does that mean you forgive me?"

"I guess it does."

"I have something for you, Lils." James pulled a velvet box out of his pocket carefully, and held it in his hand as if it was priceless. "I've been reading again…"

"Uh oh…" Lily interjected mischievously.

He opened the box, and inside it was a silver sewing thimble pillowed by pink satin. Then James quoted, as if he'd been practicing forever:

"She also said she would give him a kiss if he liked, but Peter did not know what she meant, and he held out his hand expectantly.

'Surely you know what a kiss is?' she asked, aghast.

'I shall know when you give it to me,' he replied stiffly, and not to hurt his feeling she gave him a thimble.

'Now,' said he, 'shall I give you a kiss?' and she replied with a slight primness, 'If you please.'"

He pulled Lily closer to him on the kitchen floor, and she was so full of shock she let him. "Peter Pan!"

"Now, Wendy, shall I give you a thimble?"

They kissed softly, surrounded by splinters of wood, and Lily knew in her heart that James was her soul mate.


End file.
